A vibrant fashion scene is emerging in Africa, spearheaded by a new generation of young
fashion designers. Drawing on a multi
-
sited study of Ghanaian, Ugandan and Zambian
female
designers, this article examines the emerging fashi
on industry as a site for
entrepreneuring where people’s aspirations to bring about personal, cu
ltural and socio
-
economic development
converge. The paper reveals how fashion designers envision their
endeavours as pathways for pursuing their passion, for changing the associations
ascribed to ‘Africanness’, and for revitalising failing clothing industries. The paper
proposes that while th
e emerging character of the industry creates uncertainty and many
obstacles for running viable businesses, fashion designers remain enthused by narratives
about the industry’s future prospects.

Using firm-level data, this paper investigates whether Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and hence Multinational Enterprise (MNE) presence, explains India’s improved export performance during post-reforms. The recent literature stresses that firm heterogeneity gives some firms an edge over others to self select into export market. Apart from ownership, this paper takes into account firm heterogeneity and various other firm-specific factors while understanding firm-level export performance. Hausman-Taylor estimation results show that foreign ownership does not have significantly different impact on export performance over domestic firms across sectors in Indian manufacturing. Rather firms acquire internationally competitiveness from imported raw materials, foreign technical know-how and local R&D. Further, firm heterogeneity measured in terms of sunk costs significantly impacts on firm-level export intensity. The study further reveals that there are ownership specific factors that determine firm-level exports. The results have significant implications for policy in order to attain international competitiveness of firms in India.

The recent phenomenon of rising outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) flows has raised serious policy concerns about its effects on the domestic investment and capital formation in the countries of origin of such FDI flows. Does OFDI stimulate domestic investment or does it crowd it out? The concern arises because OFDI activities could shift not only some of the production activities from home to foreign destinations but also could possibly threaten the availability of scarce financial resources at home by allocating resources abroad. All this have the potential to reduce domestic investment, thus lowering the long run sustainable economic growth and employment of the home economies. The central goal of this paper is to empirically explore the evidence of the macroeconomic relationship between OFDI and levels of domestic capital formation in India. Our study reveals that OFDI has long run strong positive causality with domestic investment and thus figures out to be a significant factor affecting domestic investment in India. It becomes imperative therefore that the nation make special effort to promote its OFDI through the designing of appropriate OFDI policies that would help stimulate its domestic investment now and in the future so as to sustain economic growth and development in the long run.

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A constitution is more likely to be accepted if it federalizes those issues that are
widely seen as needing complete harmonization. A constitution is more likely to endure if the
federal government does not have powers that are not vital to it but which may alienate some
member states to the point that the federal government loses legitimacy. It appears vital to
have trade policy at the European Union level; for euro countries, monetary policy is already
federalized. It is not clear that common foreign and defense policies are needed; insisting on
common foreign and defense policies may lead to conflicts within and across member states
that severely weaken the Union, conceivably contributing to eventual collapse. Insisting on
harmonization of commercial codes does not have the destructive potential of attempting
completely to harmonize defense and foreign policies; it may, however, lead to needless
conflict that helps drain the reservoir of goodwill that the European Union will need for
dealing with other conflicts amongst member states.

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Presently, legal regulation of participation of employees – financial participation as well as participation in decision-making – is not well developed in Estonia. On the one hand, it is due to the fact that no tradition of employee participation could have been formed after Estonia became independent because different, contrary political aims, e.g. development of the free-market economy and promotion of national elites, were given priority. Although employee ownership emerged during the early stage of privatization, it was a temporary phenomenon. Earlier experience with employee participation in decision-making was considered to be a relict from the time under Soviet rule and, therefore, to be discredited and not worth following. On the other hand, the solution of current employment and social problems is not associated with a higher level of participation of employees.

This report outlines main trends in employees' financial participation in Latvia including historical, socioeconomic and legal background. A special emphasis is placed on privatization during the transition period which shaped an environment for employees’ financial participation and influenced the current state of employee share ownership and profit-sharing. Attitudes of social partners and the government will be addressed. The report will show why the transition process lead to a low level of employees’ financial participation and the indifference and ignorance of policy makers concerning the development of financial participation.

Participation of employees in decision-making in Lithuanian companies has its roots in trade union movement as well as in the practice of managing companies under Soviet rule. After Lithuania regained independence, employee ownership was used to facilitate privatization. A notable success was establishment of a number of employee-owned companies that were formerly state-owned enterprises during the first stage of privatization. However, no stronger tradition of employee participation has evolved. Current legal regulation of participation of employees - financial participation, as well as participation in decision-making - is not well developed and does not provide for stronger incentives. The solution of current employment and social problems by the Government, ruling parties as well as social partners is not associated with a higher level of participation of employees. Financial participation is viewed mainly as a way of employee motivation as initiated by managers and current owners of companies.

In 1992 the Cadbury Committee report on the financial aspects of corporate governance was
published. The Committee had been established following the failures of a number of high
profile businesses in the UK which had shaken confidence in the market. Some nine years
later, in 2001, the collapse of Enron sent shockwaves through the US market. As a result of the
Enron collapse and various other high profile scandals in the years since its occurrence, the US
is examining its own corporate governance structures and provisions to determine how these
might be improved and help avoid another Enron. The EU similarly is developing principles
and legislation to improve corporate governance, and scandals such as Royal Ahold and
Parmalat have helped drive further governance reforms.
In this paper we detail the development of corporate governance codes in the UK and the
adaptation of similar codes in the EU. We discuss the role of the financial sector in corporate
governance and how principles for regulation and supervision of the financial sector
complement codes of conduct and legislation in the area of corporate governance.
JEL Classification numbers: G34, G28, G22, G23
Keywords: corporate governance, financial sector; institutional investors.

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This paper develops a theory of consumer boycotts. Some consumers care not only about the products they buy but also about whether the firm behaves ethically. Other consumers do not care about the behavior of the firm but yet may like to give the impression of being ethical consumers. Consequently, to affect a firm’s ethical behavior, moral consumers refuse to buy from an unethical firm. Consumers who do not care about ethical behavior may join the boycott to (falsely) signal that they do care. In the firm’s choice between ethical and unethical behavior, the optimality of mixed and pure strategies depends on the cost of behaving ethically. In particular, when the cost is (relatively) low, ethical behavior arises from a prisoners’ dilemma as the firm’s optimal strategy.

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A theoretical probe into the borderland of Business Studies and Development Studies

Hansen, Michael W.; Schaumburg-Müller, Henrik(København, 2007)

[Flere oplysninger]

[Færre oplysninger]

Resume:

Business studies and development studies have evolved relatively independently of each other – business studies occupied with profit maximizing strategies and the activities of entrepreneurs, firms and value chains, and development studies with economic, social and political development strategies of countries and regions. However, as more and more of the world’s value-adding activities take place in developing countries and as MNCs increasingly incorporate developing countries’ markets and resources in their strategies, business studies has taken a growing interest in the particular conditions of local and foreign firms doing business in such environments. Simultaneously, as the limitations of state led development strategies have become apparent and as market ideology has become prevalent in a growing number of countries, development studies has directed growing attention towards the role of entrepreneurship, firm strategy, private sector development and foreign direct investment as vehicles for economic and social development. In other words, both fields approach business in development from different sides. This paper seeks to identify themes related to the firm in developing countries as taken up by both business and development studies. We suggest the themes of common interest and potential convergence to be those of market failures, institutions, entrepreneurship, clusters, and firm internationalization. The paper illustrates that there are substantial opportunities for cross-fertilization between the two bodies of academic enquiry, and indeed, that without a conversation between the two literatures in the era of globalization, the analytical and predictive power of both may be seriously impaired.

In European Welfare States, low-skilled workers are typically unionized, while the wage formation of high-skilled workers is more competitive. To focus on this aspect, we analyze how flexible international outsourcing and labour taxation affect wage formation, employment and welfare in dual domestic labour markets. Higher productivity of outsourcing, lower cost of outsourcing and lower factor price of outsourcing increase wage dispersion between the high-skilled and low-skilled workers. Increasing wage tax progression of low-skilled workers decreases the wage rate and increases the labour demand of low-skilled workers. It decreases the welfare of lowskilled workers and increases both the welfare of high-skilled workers and the profit of firms.

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The 1990s have been a period of extraordinary politics in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This chapter discusses how the transition from state to market has created bureaucratic barriers to entry, but also windows of opportunity for foreign direct investment (FDI). The high costs and high investment risks associated with FDI in CEE are a reflection the institutional development. Thus, inflows of FDI have been largest in those countries that made most progress in establishing a market-oriented institutional framework.
After outlining trends of institutional change and their impact on FDI, this chapter discusses how aspects of the institutional framework and FDI policy affect diverse types of investment projects. Acquisition and Greenfield investors are concerned with different aspects of government policy: privatization and regulatory policies for acquirers and investment incentives, regional policy and special economic zones for Greenfield investors. The shifting policy priorities have thus changed the types of projects undertaken by foreign investors in the region.

Little is known about impact of FDI on economic development in Africa compared to other developing countries, which the paper seeks to address by focusing on examples of impact in Mali and South Africa. The arugment put forward is that the impact has to be identified at the level of the industry or sector and the level of the firm with regard to employment effect, income generation and skills development. The mining and electricity and railway sectors in Mali are investigated and compared to the automobile industry in South Africa. The paper ends with suggestions for future investigations which can shed more light on the pertinent issues about impact of FDI in Africa.

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This study examines the differential response of various international financial flows to the post 9/11 episode of terrorism in the context of a South Asian country. Using monthly data for the period from January 2003 to December 2014, we analyze the impact of terrorism in Pakistan on the inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investments, and migrant remittances. We find that FDI decreases substantially as a result of terrorist activity, whereas portfolio investments show little change. In contrast, migrant remittances show a significant increase. These differences are also evident in financial flows from major source regions and top sending countries. The results are robust to the use of alternative definitions and indicators of terrorism as well as the inclusion of various macroeconomic variables. These findings indicate that foreign private capital flees an economy suffering from terrorism whereas migrant remittances are the only financial flows that increase during difficult times.

Nordea is the first major international bank planning to operate important host country activities in branches as the Second European banking directive envisions rather than as subsidiaries. Nordea is the result of mergers of roughly equal-size universal banks in four Nordic countries with the intention to reap economies of scale and scope by providing services in an integrated organization. Nordea has so far operated under a legal structure with subsidiaries in the host countries. When the new branch organization is implemented, EU directives specify that the home country is responsible for supervision, regulation as well as deposit insurance. Supervisors in all involved countries are challenged by this prospect and they are negotiating to obtain an acceptable division of responsibilities. We argue that the Nordea case offers an opportunity to implement the EU's vision and to develop institutional foundations for substantial market discipline in banking. In particular, distress resolution and insolvency procedures for banks must be made rule based and credible for host country authorities to accept home country control.